“Run!”Fighting the pain and frenzied teeth. Raw knuckles and burnt muscles.“I can’t hold them.” I collapse to my knees, blood gushing out of gaping wounds, spent, panting like a dog.I succumb, buying time with my life. Is this all I’m worth, meagre seconds? With luck they’ll waste time feasting on my corpse.

Jed’s
eyes popped open after a fitful nap, and he dragged himself up from the
bedroom floor. He patted Susie on the head and forced his aching legs to
carry him down the stairs. Digging in his ears, he removed the ear
plugs and stuffed them in his pocket. Relentless pounding and wailing
flooded his senses.

“You
keep a-knockin’, but you can’t come in …” Jed sang tunelessly as he
checked the barricaded doors and windows for the umpteenth time. He
could barely hear the padding of Susie’s paws as she followed him into
the kitchen with the hope of being fed.

“Sorry, girl. No dice.” They were down to five full gallon jugs of water. The food had run out three days ago.
Jed’s Labrador looked as lousy as he felt. She’d stopped barking at the
moans of the undead weeks ago, but the endless desperation of the
monsters had worn on her. Her gorgeous coat was falling out in clumps as
her ribcage grew ever more visible. “Were gonna starve in here, baby, but at least those bastards won’t eat us.”

Being
eaten alive was Jed’s biggest fear. Blackened teeth sinking into your
flesh and blood-scabbed fingers tearing into your muscles and organs was
the worst possible way to go. Starving would hurt, but Jed hoped his
senses would grow dull and he would pass away in his sleep.

Susie
gave a low, throaty growl as Jed took a swig of water. Looking down, he
could see her raised hackles and her lips pulled back, revealing sharp
doggy teeth.

“Girl?”

Jed
dropped the jug and raised his arm just in time to prevent his pup from
sinking her teeth into his throat. Instead, Susie latched on to his
forearm as Jed’s back slammed into a cabinet. Jed’s legs crumpled and he
collapsed to the floor, howling in pain.

Susie
relinquished her hold and scrambled out of the way of Jed’s falling
body. He landed face-up and felt lukewarm water from the jug he’d
dropped seeping through his clothes. He couldn’t move.

“Susie? Wha- what didja do to me?”

A
trickle of blood darkened the puddle of water beneath Jed’s arm. He
could still feel his extremities but could only move his neck. As he
struggled, he heard Susie growl again.

Todd
did his best to stand up, vacillating until he could support himself
against a wall. The explosion had been more voluminous than they thought
it would be. They came into the situation with thirty people and as far
as Todd knew, he and Mark were the only ones left. As Todd stood up he
watched as Mark ran down the hallway only to be caught in the arms of
one of the many desolate creatures that still remained after the
explosion. Tears formed in Todd's eyes as he watched helplessly,
refraining from screaming. To his knowledge, he was all alone. All his
friends had died on this mission. A failed mission. He mission that just
happened to be their last hope.

"What do I do now?" He whispered to himself.

His
pain and sadness quickly turned to anger as he watched the two bodies,
his closest friend and the creature, rise from the ground.

"Why?! Why did it happen like this?! We came here to
amend the area, not turn it into a derelict, pile of rubble!" He
screamed, his voice breaking on the last few words.

He didn't know what he was doing, his boisterous acts were only
going to cause him more problems. The creatures fad him, their glare
penetrating all his defenses. Todd was afraid, injured, alone, and
unarmed. His gun was thrown from his hand during the explosion.
Panicked, he searched the ground for his gun, searching through the
smoke and dust. At first he had trouble seeing. The dust and smoke was
only growing thicker by the second. After a few seconds he noticed it
just four feet in front of him, a pistol near the wall. He looked back
up, expecting to see the creatures much closer than they had been just a
few seconds before. He was surprised by the anomaly in front of him.
The creatures remained standing where they were, watching Todd and
keeping their distance. Todd made his violation and jumped for the gun.
He braced himself, knowing that the impact would hurt, hitting the
ground with the gun well within arm's reach. The creatures reacted to
this sudden action by sprinting forward towards him. Using any and all
available adrenaline, Todd grabbed the gun and shoved himself off the
ground, taking aim at the creatures as quickly as possible. He quickly
fired off two shots at the one on his right, the one who had gotten his
friend. The first round buried itself in the creature's left shoulder
while the other flew straight into the creature's throat, just above its
collar bone. Feeling confident as the creature hit the ground, Todd
turned to the creature that had once been his friend, only to receive a
blow to his left arm. The blow felt similar to a baseball bat that had
struck him in the arm, rendering it useless. The creature that had once
Ben his friend was now in front of him breathing heavily, a hungry look
in his eye that replaced the amiable light that had once been there. The
creatures shoved Todd against the wall, biting and thrashing at him.
Todd was forced to shove all the thoughts of the friend he once knew out
of his mind and focus on the situation at hand. His left arm now
useless, he fought with his right arm, doing his best to shove the gun
as close to the creature's face as he thought possible. As strong as
the creature's arms were, they were surprisingly lithe, allowing him to
twist and maneuver his good arm. Todd had the perfect shot lined up with
his finger on the trigger, yet somehow he was unable to do it. Inch by
inch, the creature's face crept closer and closer to Todd's neck.

"Aaaaaarrrgggghhhhh!" Todd yelled in desperation as he squeezed the trigger.

The
creature's body fell to the floor, leaving Todd alone against the wall.
He dropped his head and began to chastise himself for his reprehensible
lack of action.

"There's no time for this," Todd said, "I need to move."

With
all his might, Todd made his way down the hallway towards the outside,
trying to flee the licentious environment that was the creature's lair.
Off to his left he heard the quick pitter-patter of feet, encouraging
him to move faster. Using his good arm, he bashed the the door to the
outside, twisting as he fell to aim at the creature that was now visible
in the daylight. The zombie's grey and decaying skin could now be seen.
Todd fired his last three rounds into the zombie, all of them
puncturing the zombie around the its neck. It's momentum carried it
forward and would have landed on Todd, had he not moved. Tired and
defeated, Todd laid on the ground trying to mediate his thoughts. The
whole fight against the zombies had been unilateral the whole time. Now
he was alone, injured, and truly defenseless.

As he stared into the sky, a vivacious bird flew
into his field of vision, bringing Hope with it. The bird had brought
tranquil thoughts as Todd listened to the sound of people shouting just a
short distance away. Todd did his best to turn and look in the
direction of the noise, catching the group of people as they came into
view.

"There! He's alive!" Yelled a woman.

A
few people ran to him from the small group that could now be seen. The
woman dropped next to Todd and began to check him for any sign of a
bite. When she was satisfied she looked him in the eye, not saying a
word. The only thing Todd could notice was the amorous glow that
radiated from them.

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